Comment by metaphor | Hacker News Reader

Comment by metaphor | Hacker News Reader

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This struck me as so absurdly anti-social with a pinch of blatant dismissal for why certain rules in public spaces exist to begin with that it reads like you're intentionally trolling the parent in bad faith.

You know what also doesn't care about the rules of ordered society and the potentially deadly consequences of breaking them? Animals.

Disagree? Only a fool spitting into the wind would permit me to unleash my seemingly subservient Dobermann into the "reality" of instinct for just a minute while we had that hot debate in a public park. I care about its life---and the lives of peaceful strangers there to also enjoy the public space, and the lives of birds making a pitstop on a long migratory journey, and the lives of squirrels that call a resident tree home, and even your life when you decide to raise your voice in a way that may or may not be perceived as threatening---to recognize the unabashed arrogance of doing so.

That's the empathy perspective you're missing.

That’s a petty aggressive and condescending response. I have a pretty big dog (GS mix) and she’d likely never be fast enough to catch a squirrel or bird unless she’s lucky (I also trained that response out of her very early on) and she was definitely faster than Dobermans at the park in her prime. Also, even if she did, it’s not like she’s that foreign a concept - dogs are everywhere and squirrels and birds already deal with predators. I honor it in parks that are protected reserves but if there’s a local park with such signage I’d probably ignore it, particularly if no one else is around (more about making them uncomfortable than anything else).

> You know what also doesn't care about the rules of ordered society and the potentially deadly consequences of breaking them? Animals.

You say that like it’s some curse word. Hate to break it to you, but doesn’t matter how many rules you create and try to enforce to “civilize” humans, humans are animals. Always have been, always will be. I would say that developing an understanding of why rules might be implemented and correctly evaluating the “harm” (societal and to any given individual) of breaking it is what being a functional adult human is. Similarly owning the consequences if your rule breaking behavior resulted in some harm is also called for.

Heck, you’re on a website with close ties to YCombinator, an accelerator for Silicon Valley startups often famous for “disrupting” by blatantly ignoring old laws and seeing if they can grow and corner the market before the regulators catch on so that they get entrenched as the incumbents once the regulators do do something.

Sounds like every pit bull owner up until their totally harmless lovely well trained wouldn't harm a fly pit bull snaps and attacks someone or another dog.

The leash in public areas is to be able to control your dog. If you want your dog off of the leash go to private property or a dog park where a gated leashless area exists for those willing to assume the risk.

I've seen military trained dogs with training worth tens of thousands of dollars disobey orders. I simply do not care how well trained people think their dogs are.

Yeah, what is it with dog owners who all seem to be clueless about the dangers of an unleashed dog? Is there a psychological disorder to explain this worldview? In my life, 100% of dog owners all think their dog is "well behaved" when many are not. Bizarre.

No one hates unleashed dogs (outside of spaces where it is explicitly permitted) more than responsible dogs owners -- except, I guess, people with dog phobias.

Most adult dogs are not OK with being approached by other dogs they don't know. This is absolutely fine so long as all dogs are leashed, and so long as unleashed dogs are limited to private property and to dog parks (you can just not take your dog there if it doesn't like other dogs).

But then some jackass lets their dog loose in a place when you walking your dog on a leash ("It's OK! My dog is good with other dogs!" they shout while running after their dog making a beeline for yours). It gets in your dog's face, your dog warns it to back off, and then you have a dog fight on your hands -- a fight which your dog has the lower hand in because it's leashed.

It's not uncommon for leashed dogs to be mauled or even killed by loose-leash dogs. This is probably one of the most common scenarios where one dog kills another. Sometimes the leashed dog's owner is mauled or killed trying to protect their dog.

Responsible dog owners are extremely familiar with the hazards posed by off-leash dogs in on-leash-only spaces. Only thoughtless owners think otherwise and should be harshly denounced, but please don't paint ALL dog owners with the same brush when most of them would agree with you.

And 99% of them are correct.

As a dog lover and lifelong dog owner, keep your fucking dog leashed and away from mine. I will 100% defend my dogs with lethal force if I have to, and I will pursue any legal action I can against you.

Just because you think your dog is OK doesn't mean that other dogs are OK with your dog; they don't know your dog, and I don't know your dog.

I hug my friends, but if a strangers runs up and hugs me, I will interpret that as assault and respond accordingly -- so don't ever let your dog do the canine equivalent of that, because any consequences (and they may be severe) fall entirely on your shoulders.

Sure. When there’s other dogs around I keep her leashed. When I’m walking her by myself at night when there’s no one around I’m not going to leash her.

If you can hold true to that (e.g., she has excellent recall and you can reliably leash her immediately if anyone else shows up, such that no one even knows you have broken the law), then I am OK with that.

Most people who let their dog off-leash in on-leash areas do not have that kind of control (even when they think they do), and for that reason, I am in favor of the law coming down very hard on this.

(At the same time, I am strongly in favor of more designated off-leash parks. As much as I hate off-leash dogs running around, a fair percentage of this is due to a lack of dog-friendly spaces, and fines can only do so much to mitigate it. I would be in favor of all earnings from off-leash fines having to go toward building and maintaining local dog parks.)

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